Dear Linnea,
Another month has passed! Now we're in double digits, and your 1st birthday is just around the corner. Unreal! We have really been in a groove lately. For the most part, our days with you pass with ease and routine. It makes me proud that we've gotten to this point. Parenting has a very steep learning curve, and there were days I thought it would never feel "easy!" More and more, you are just a happy, easy-going baby. We are blessed by your friendly, sweet, inquisitive personality. Every day you make us laugh, and we find new reasons to love you. This has been another wonderful month!
You went to Green Bay...
Not long after you were born, I decided to get back to distance running by training for another event with Team in Training. I chose to train for the Green Bay Half Marathon, and Daddy and I decided to make it a fun little family trip for the 3 of us.
After a few months of training, the big weekend came! We left for Green Bay on Saturday morning. You did pretty well in the car. We only stopped once for lunch, a diaper change, etc. and you were able to nap a bit in the car. We got to our hotel mid-afternoon. I headed to the Inspiration Dinner with the team, and you hung out with Daddy.
Both nights we were in Green Bay were a little rough. You woke up in the middle of the night, and had a hard time getting back to sleep. We felt very bad to have a crying baby in the hotel room. Saturday night both Daddy and I spent time in the hotel lobby with you, trying to calm you down and get you back to sleep. You ended up sleeping in bed with me (which you NEVER do) for a little while. Not so fun, but we made it through okay.
Sunday was race day and it was HOT HOT HOT. After waking up with mama at 4:30 (yikes), you were able to get a little sleep while I started my race. You and Daddy were able to greet me at the finish line. I was so happy to see you both! Grammy and Grampy were also with us for part of the weekend, which was very fun.
We spent a little bit of time at Lambeau Field, and got to take you through the Packer Hall of Fame. The weekend went much too quickly, so hopefully we'll be able to go back some day soon!
You started eating finger foods...
At the end of May/beginning of June we started introducing finger foods. You were becoming VERY interested in anything and everything that we were eating. You looked at our food longingly, and would try to swipe stuff any chance you got.
At first you just liked picking up the food. But once you picked up the food, you weren't sure what to do with it. For the most part, you just pushed it around your tray or held it in your hands. To help you understand that these mystery particles were really food for you to eat, we tried feeding you little pieces. You would eat those happily, but still didn't figure out that you could do it yourself.
Meal after meal, we offered finger food, and it was the same thing...you'd pick them up, hold them in your hands, push them around the tray, and eat them from us...but you weren't figuring out how to feed yourself.
Very true to form, one day in early June it just clicked....you very suddenly had it all figured out. You fed yourself like you had been doing it for weeks. We look forward to introducing more foods - I think you'll love this whole independent eating thing!
You started standing on your own...
Lately you have gotten more and more confident in your ability to support yourself on your own. You spend your days pulling yourself up and down and up and down and up...and down. You are an expert at standing up holding on to stuff for support.
Within the last month, you have begun to stand on your own - without the help of something else. You don't get up there on your own, but you will stand up on your own for a few seconds if we stand you up initially. You think it's hilarious. You smile and laugh, and seem quite proud of yourself. We are bracing ourselves - I think you are going to be on the move very, very soon!
You went in a pool for the first time...
Last summer you were too little to go into a pool before it cooled down for the Fall. We have been looking forward to the weather heating up this summer so that we could introduce you to the pool! We were pretty certain that you would love it, since you have always loved baths, and seem very intrigued and delighted by water.
So one toasty Sunday at the beginning of June we filled the kiddie pool (previously Luther's pool...poor Luther) and changed you into your adorable little swimsuit. Despite sitting out in the sun for a while, the water was still a little chilly, which made me nervous...not because it was too cold but because I didn't think you would like it.
I was wrong. You LOVED it. We set you in the pool and you instantly smiled and flapped your arms. We played happily in there for almost an hour. We hope to take you to bigger pools and lakes a lot this Summer!
You've grown and changed a lot too...
You are growing like a weed! We haven't had you weighed or measured since your 9 month appointment, but I'm sure you're over 20 pounds now, and probably over 30"! It's crazy to compare that to your birth size... pushing 3 times your birth weight, and around 10" longer than your birth length! Growing girl!!
Another month has passed! Now we're in double digits, and your 1st birthday is just around the corner. Unreal! We have really been in a groove lately. For the most part, our days with you pass with ease and routine. It makes me proud that we've gotten to this point. Parenting has a very steep learning curve, and there were days I thought it would never feel "easy!" More and more, you are just a happy, easy-going baby. We are blessed by your friendly, sweet, inquisitive personality. Every day you make us laugh, and we find new reasons to love you. This has been another wonderful month!
You went to Green Bay...
Not long after you were born, I decided to get back to distance running by training for another event with Team in Training. I chose to train for the Green Bay Half Marathon, and Daddy and I decided to make it a fun little family trip for the 3 of us.
After a few months of training, the big weekend came! We left for Green Bay on Saturday morning. You did pretty well in the car. We only stopped once for lunch, a diaper change, etc. and you were able to nap a bit in the car. We got to our hotel mid-afternoon. I headed to the Inspiration Dinner with the team, and you hung out with Daddy.
Both nights we were in Green Bay were a little rough. You woke up in the middle of the night, and had a hard time getting back to sleep. We felt very bad to have a crying baby in the hotel room. Saturday night both Daddy and I spent time in the hotel lobby with you, trying to calm you down and get you back to sleep. You ended up sleeping in bed with me (which you NEVER do) for a little while. Not so fun, but we made it through okay.
Sunday was race day and it was HOT HOT HOT. After waking up with mama at 4:30 (yikes), you were able to get a little sleep while I started my race. You and Daddy were able to greet me at the finish line. I was so happy to see you both! Grammy and Grampy were also with us for part of the weekend, which was very fun.
We spent a little bit of time at Lambeau Field, and got to take you through the Packer Hall of Fame. The weekend went much too quickly, so hopefully we'll be able to go back some day soon!
You started eating finger foods...
At the end of May/beginning of June we started introducing finger foods. You were becoming VERY interested in anything and everything that we were eating. You looked at our food longingly, and would try to swipe stuff any chance you got.
At first you just liked picking up the food. But once you picked up the food, you weren't sure what to do with it. For the most part, you just pushed it around your tray or held it in your hands. To help you understand that these mystery particles were really food for you to eat, we tried feeding you little pieces. You would eat those happily, but still didn't figure out that you could do it yourself.
Meal after meal, we offered finger food, and it was the same thing...you'd pick them up, hold them in your hands, push them around the tray, and eat them from us...but you weren't figuring out how to feed yourself.
Very true to form, one day in early June it just clicked....you very suddenly had it all figured out. You fed yourself like you had been doing it for weeks. We look forward to introducing more foods - I think you'll love this whole independent eating thing!
You started standing on your own...
Lately you have gotten more and more confident in your ability to support yourself on your own. You spend your days pulling yourself up and down and up and down and up...and down. You are an expert at standing up holding on to stuff for support.
Within the last month, you have begun to stand on your own - without the help of something else. You don't get up there on your own, but you will stand up on your own for a few seconds if we stand you up initially. You think it's hilarious. You smile and laugh, and seem quite proud of yourself. We are bracing ourselves - I think you are going to be on the move very, very soon!
You went in a pool for the first time...
Last summer you were too little to go into a pool before it cooled down for the Fall. We have been looking forward to the weather heating up this summer so that we could introduce you to the pool! We were pretty certain that you would love it, since you have always loved baths, and seem very intrigued and delighted by water.
So one toasty Sunday at the beginning of June we filled the kiddie pool (previously Luther's pool...poor Luther) and changed you into your adorable little swimsuit. Despite sitting out in the sun for a while, the water was still a little chilly, which made me nervous...not because it was too cold but because I didn't think you would like it.
I was wrong. You LOVED it. We set you in the pool and you instantly smiled and flapped your arms. We played happily in there for almost an hour. We hope to take you to bigger pools and lakes a lot this Summer!
You've grown and changed a lot too...
You are growing like a weed! We haven't had you weighed or measured since your 9 month appointment, but I'm sure you're over 20 pounds now, and probably over 30"! It's crazy to compare that to your birth size... pushing 3 times your birth weight, and around 10" longer than your birth length! Growing girl!!
You are wearing mostly 9 and 12 months clothes, although a few that are 6 months, and a few on the other end that are 18 months. We have loved your fun, summery clothes! You are still in size 3 diapers.
You are now having solid food (now with finger food sprinkled in) 3 times each day. You love it! Because of how much food you are having, your milk intake has slowed down a little bit. You are still having 4 bottles a day at daycare, but we're thinking that you will be down to three soon.
One interesting thing that's happened recently is that you have stopped nursing at night. Just as you turned 9 months, you became very fussy when I would try to nurse you at night. We tried a few things - nursing before solids, nursing earlier, skipping the last pump session at work. Nothing worked. I thought maybe you just weren't hungry - but then you would take a bottle happily. After a few days of fighting it, we decided we'd rather have you well fed and content than nursing. It was hard for me to let that time go - it was such a precious, special time for us... but I know that it was bound to happen. You still nurse well in the mornings - but that's pretty much it. You don't like to slow down to nurse - so it works better to give a bottle. I'm still pumping so that you get breast milk. I'm trying to prepare myself for being down with feeding you in this way. It's been a part of our lives for almost a year, so it will be very weird and hard when we are done. We don't have to "worry" about that yet...
You have gotten back to complete rockstar sleeper status. You consistently go down for bed between 6:15 and 6:30. You sleep through the night without so much as a peep most night until you wake up happily on your own at about 5:45. This has helped our weekend schedule IMMENSELY!! Your schedule matches pretty closely with your weekday schedule. This enables us to know and predict when you will need to be napping, and when you will be happily awake. This has kept mama sane. :-) It's so nice to have a predictable flow to our days.
You are go go go from dawn till dusk. You crawl, scoot, cruise, pull up EVERYWHERE. You are curious and busy and inquisitive. You are SO much fun...we love the time we get to spend together.
You are now having solid food (now with finger food sprinkled in) 3 times each day. You love it! Because of how much food you are having, your milk intake has slowed down a little bit. You are still having 4 bottles a day at daycare, but we're thinking that you will be down to three soon.
One interesting thing that's happened recently is that you have stopped nursing at night. Just as you turned 9 months, you became very fussy when I would try to nurse you at night. We tried a few things - nursing before solids, nursing earlier, skipping the last pump session at work. Nothing worked. I thought maybe you just weren't hungry - but then you would take a bottle happily. After a few days of fighting it, we decided we'd rather have you well fed and content than nursing. It was hard for me to let that time go - it was such a precious, special time for us... but I know that it was bound to happen. You still nurse well in the mornings - but that's pretty much it. You don't like to slow down to nurse - so it works better to give a bottle. I'm still pumping so that you get breast milk. I'm trying to prepare myself for being down with feeding you in this way. It's been a part of our lives for almost a year, so it will be very weird and hard when we are done. We don't have to "worry" about that yet...
You have gotten back to complete rockstar sleeper status. You consistently go down for bed between 6:15 and 6:30. You sleep through the night without so much as a peep most night until you wake up happily on your own at about 5:45. This has helped our weekend schedule IMMENSELY!! Your schedule matches pretty closely with your weekday schedule. This enables us to know and predict when you will need to be napping, and when you will be happily awake. This has kept mama sane. :-) It's so nice to have a predictable flow to our days.
You are go go go from dawn till dusk. You crawl, scoot, cruise, pull up EVERYWHERE. You are curious and busy and inquisitive. You are SO much fun...we love the time we get to spend together.
We love you, Sweet Pea!!
Mama and Daddy
